The rise of German football was credited with West Germany's victory at the European Championship in 1972. However, West Germany actually won a World Cup in 1954. A number of great players emerged during in the eras before 1972. This is my selection of a 23 member all-time German team before West Germany won the European Championship in 1972. All players ended their national team career before the European Championship of 1972, where it marked the beginning of German's rise in football. The number 23 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the World Cup Finals.

World Cup Final 1966 against England

TeamGK: Bert TrautmannTrautmann
was a former POW who decided to remain in England after the war. He
signed for Manchester City in 1949. He turned from the most hated
player in England to a fan favourite. He was the hero of 1956 FA Cup
winning team. In his prime, he was known as one of the best keeper in
the world. He was credited for healing the German-British relations
after the War.GK: Toni TurekBetween 1950 and 1954, Toni Turek played 20 games for the German national team. He was the starting keeper for West Germany at World Cup Finals in 1954, where the Germans won their first World Cup. The Final was an upset against Hungary and the match was known as the "Miracle of Bern". His longest club stint was with Fortuna Düsseldorf.

GK: Hans Tilkowski Hans Tilkowski played mainly for Westfalia Herne and Borussia Dortmund. With Borussia Dortmund, he won the Cup Winners' Cup. For West Germany, he was a member of the World Cup teams of 1962 and 1966. In 1966, Tilkowski was the No. 1 goalkeeper of the West German team which lost the World Cup Final against England. He was the German Player of the Year in 1965.

RB: Paul JanesThe DFB list Paul Janes in the top 20 best German footballers of all time. He is known as one of the best fullback in the world before the War. He went to two World Cup Finals in 1934 and 1938. He was a member of the Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8:0 in Breslau in 1937. He held the cap record until it was broken in 1970. His longest club stint was with Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Paul Janes

RB: Hans NowakWhile playing for FC Bayern Munich, he won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. Nowak became notable for being the first attacking Fullback in German football. Between September 1961 and November 1964, Nowak was the standard right back of West Germany, starting in 15 out of 20 international games during that period.CB: Willi SchulzWilli Schulz was one of the best center-backs in the world during the 1960's. He played 66 times for West Germany. He was the starting sweeper in the 1966 World Cup Finals. He also went to the World Cup Finals 4 years later in Mexico, but was injured. He started Schalke 04 in 1960. From 1965 to 1973, he played for Hamburger SV.DM/CB: Ludwig GoldbrunnerLudwig Goldbrunner went to the World Cup Finals in 1938 for Germany. He became known in 1937 as one of the "Breslau-Elf" (Breslau Eleven) players, after they thrashed Denmark with an 8:0 score. He spent his entire career with Bayern Munich, winning the German title in 1932. He was considered to be one of Bayern's greatest players. CB/LB: Karl-Heinz SchnellingerIn his prime, he was considered one of the best leftbacks in the world. He participated in 4 World Cup Finals, unfortunaitely sandwiched between West Germany's two WC winning tournaments. He was remembered one of the first German to star in Italy. He had a remarkable stint with AC Milan and As Roma. He won the European Cup in 1969.

Karl-Heinz Schnellinger

CB: Herbert ErhardtHerbert Erhardt was one of Bayern Munich's greatest defenders. He earned 50 caps for the West Germany and was a member of the German team which won the 1954 World Cup, but did not play. He also participated in two other World Cups in 1958 and 1962. He served as the German captain 16 times.

CB/LB: Reihold MunzenbergMünzenberg spent most of his career with Alemannia Aachen (1927–1951) but also had spells with SV Werder Bremen and LSV Hamburg as a Wartime Guest Player. On the national level he played for Germany (41 matches, no goals), and was a participant at the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups. Münzenberg was a member of the Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8–0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 out 11 games played during that year. He was considered one of the greatest left backs.

RB/LB: Erich JuskowiakErich Juskowiak made his national team debut in 1951, but did not go to Swizterland for the World Cup Finals in 1954. He was the starting left back four years later for the West German national team at Sweden 1958. He became the first German player to be sent off in a World Cup Finals match over there.DM: Andreas KupferKupfer was one of two FC Schweinfurt 05 players featured in the Breslau Elf that beat Denmark 8:0 in 1937. Kupfer was one of the best half backs in the history of German football and is the only player to have played Germany’s last international game before the end of World War II (played in 1942) and the first one after the war (in 1950).

Haller was one of the best midfielders in the world in the 1960's. In 1966, he helped West Germany to reach the WC Final in 1966, forming one of the best midfield of the tournament. He also went to Chile in 1962 and Mexico in 1970. He started with Augsburg. He was also known for his stints in Italy, playing for Bologna and Juventus.CM: Horst SzymaniakHorst Szymaniak was one of West Germany's greatest midfielders. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1959 and 1962. He played for SpVgg Erkenschwick, Wuppertaler SV, Karlsruher SC, Calcio Catania, F.C. Internazionale Milano, A.S. Varese 1910, and Tasmania 1900 Berlin. He joined Inter Milan in 1962 at a time when Serie A clubs seldom signed German players.

Horst Szymaniak

CM: Fritz SzepanSzepan is one of Germany's greatest midfielder. He played in both 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals. In 1938, Szepan was named captain of the "Unified Germany" team shortly after the Anschluss at the 1936 World Cup Finals. He was also the captain of the 1934 team. He played his entire career with Schalke 04. He was voted as the club's greatest ever player.

RW: Ernest Lehner 'He played for the Germany in the 1934 and the 1938 World Cup. He was capped 65 times and scored 31 goals. He was a member of the Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8–0 in Breslau in 1937. He was considered to have been one of the best outside rights of the 1934 World Cup. Others touted him as "the best non-professional player in Europe" (professionalism was not allowed in Germany in the 1930s). He was one of the players selected to represent Western Europe against Central Europe in 1937.

RW: Helmut RahnRahn was known as "Der Boss" (English: "The Boss") because of his on-field leadership and occasionally also as "The Cannon from Essen". He was considered one of the best ever German winger. His club career was associated with Rot-Weiss Essen. Capped 40 times. He was a star of the 1954 WC team. He scored the winning goal in the final vs Hungary. He also went to the WC Finals in 1958.

Helmut Rahn

LW: Hans SchaferHe played for 1. FC Köln between 1948 and 1965. He also played for the West Germany, earning 39 caps and scoring 15 goals. He played in three World Cups, in 1954, 1958, and 1962, earning a winner's medal in 1954 and scoring a total of seven goals. Between 1957 and 1962, Schäfer captained Germany 16 times. He was German Player of the Year in 1963. He spent all of his career with Koln.

AM/FW: Fritz WalterFritz Walter was the captain of the 1954 World Cup winning team. He had over 60 caps and also went to the 1958 World Cup Finals. He was selected as the UEFA Golden Player for Germany at the 50th anniversary of UEFA in 2004. He played with Kaiserslautern. During the War, he captured as a POW and his life was spared because the guards recognised him as a famous footballer.

Fritz Walter

FW: Max MorlockMorlock started with Eintracht Nürnberg. In 1940 he joined 1. FC Nürnberg, debuting in the first team on 30 November 1941. He appeared more than 900 times in the first team and scored about 700 goals. In 1948 and 1961 he led the team to German championships. He earned 26 caps and scored 21 goals. He was a member of the West German team that won their first World Cup in 1954. In the final match against Hungary Morlock scored West Germany's first goal to start the comeback.

ST: Edmund ConenConen played with FV 03 Saarbrücken, Stuttgarter Kickers,[2] Mülhausen 93, HSV Groß Born (Pommern) and a couple of smaller clubs. He played from 1934 to 1942 in 28 international matches for Germany and scored 27 goals. With four goals in the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, Conen was the joint second top scorer with Angelo Schiavio of Italy, behind Oldřich Nejedlý of Czechoslovakia who had five goals.

ST: Ernst Kuzorra During his entire career, he played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Schalke player of all time alongside Fritz Szepan. A highly athletic, technical and prolific forward, Kuzorra is also commonly regarded as one of the greatest German forwards. Capped 12 times.ST: Uwe SeelerSeeler was captain of both his club team and the national team for many years. He played in 4 WC Finals(1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970), but sandwiched between Germany's two World Cup winning years(1954 and 1974). West Germany came second in 1966 and reached the semifinal in 1970 while playing next to Gerd Muller. However, he is still regarded one of Germany's greatest players. He spent his entire career with SV Hamburger.

Uwe Seeler

Honorable MentionHans Jakob, Heinrich Stuhlfauth, Friedrich Herkenrath, Horst Eckel, Ottmar Walter, Eugen Kipp, Richard Hofmann.Squad Explanation-- Only three players are on my Germany All-Time Team: Helmut Rahn, Hans Schafer and Fritz Walter.-- The players whose career with the national team ended before the European Championship of 1972, where it marked the beginning of German's rise in football. Some players played with Beckenbauer and members of the 1974 World Cup team.-- Bert Trautmann was not considered in other German-related all-time team because he never played for Germany. However, I made an exception for this team. As a result, Hans Jakob missed out. I am not familiar with Heinrich Stuhlfauth. -- I do not know much about Eugen Kipp.-- All Austrian players who played for Germany in 1938 because of Anschluss were not considered due to sensitivity of the political situation.-- East German players were considered, but none were selected. -- Saarland played as a national team between 1950 and 1956. All players were eligible, but none made the team.Formation